Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Robert Kennedy at Disneyland 6-3-1968

An e-mail arrived in my box, addressed simply, 'Robert Kennedy-Club 33'. Well, this was certainly interesting, so I waisted no time in opening such. The e-mail was from an elderly gentleman who requested to remain anonymous and he explained how on 6-3-1968 Robert Kennedy was visiting Disneyland with his children and thusly enjoyed dinner at Club 33.
I wasted no time and proceeded to research the last days of Robert Kennedy, and sure enough, it appears this kind fellow was correct. While there is no mention of Club 33, I have no doubt Kennedy would have been allowed access for security reasons. If there is anyone who may have worked at the Club or the park during that period, your expertise, knowledge and input would be appreciated.

Below is clip from:

Robert Kennedy
His Life
By EVAN THOMAS
Simon & Schuster

http://www.nytimes.com/books/first/t/thomas-kennedy.html

"The overhyped debate was regarded as anticlimactic, "a mutually pedestrian performance," wrote David Halberstam. For Kennedy, a draw was a win: he had exceeded expectations. McCarthy "didn't do his homework," Kennedy said. The next day the absentee father took his kids (six of them had come out to California) to Disneyland, where they rode Pirates of the Caribbean. On Monday came the final, grueling push: Los Angeles to San Francisco, back to Long Beach and Watts, and down to San Diego, 1,200 miles and all three major California TV markets. On the plane back to Los Angeles, he recovered from his near collapse during his last speech in San Diego, but he was reaching the limit of his physical endurance."

It was 6-5-1968 that Robert Kennedy was assassinated at the Ambassador Hotel, a tragic day for America. He passed on 6-6-1968 at approx. 1:44AM.

Consolation can be found in knowing that he was able to spend quality time with his family prior to the tragic event.

2 comments:

Unknown said...
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Unknown said...

I was 8 years old, and as a family we were at Disneyland for my mothers birthday. We had just gotten into the park, and were in front of city hall, which was just inside the tunnel, at the front end of main street. After a moment, there was some commotion, and the crowd separated. down the steps came Robert Kennedy. Along with at least one other person, they came to the street just in front - right where we were standing. We stood there, frozen. In my young mind, even then, I knew who he was, but found a new appreciation for him because of the reaction from the crowd. Smiling and waving, he moved on, shaking some hands. He disappeared into the crowd, and as we had just arrived, went into the park, and forgot about it until the report came in of his assassination. To this day, I have the image of him, there on main street, with the crown opened up around him, and he standing there, and smiling.